1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for modifying the earth""s surface by removing soil from the earth""s surface at one location, moving the soil to a new location to fill low areas. In particular this invention relates to earth moving scrapers that are of the type having a frame carried by at least two wheels, a tongue mounted to the frame for attachment to a tractor, a cutting blade connected to the frame, and a bucket pivotally mounted to the frame adjoining the blade so that the bucket receives the soil cut by the blade.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Scrapers and earth moving apparatus of the general type to which the present invention relates are well-known in the art. A typical scraper disclosed in the art comprises a frame having a front end, to which is attached a tongue for pulling the scraper, two opposing sides, and at least two wheels pivotally connected to the opposing sides. A bucket for holding earth is pivotally mounted to the frame. The bucket has a floor, an upstanding rear wall, two upstanding opposed side walls, an open front and an open top. A blade is attached to the front edge of the floor of the bucket for cutting the earth to a predetermined depth as the apparatus is moved forward over the earth""s surface. The soil cut from the earth by the blade is collected in the bucket. When the bucket is full of soil, the scraper is transported to another location where the soil is deposited.
In order to complete the three tasks, cutting, transporting and filling, the cutting blade and the bucket must be positioned at different heights above the ground surface. To accomplish this the wheels are pivotally attached to the frame so that the rear portion of the sides of the frame may be raised and lowered in relation to the wheels. The center of the arc of the pivot is established so that the wheels move generally vertically in relation to the bucket, keeping the rear wall of the bucket laterally spaced apart and in front of the wheels. When the scraper is cutting the soil, the frame is lowered to its generally lowest position. Of course, cuts of different depths may be made, depending upon the hardness of the soil and the final grade to be reached, which require generally small variations in the height of the cutting blade and frame. When the bucket is full of soil the frame is raised to its second, or transport, position where maximum clearance is maintained between the cutting edge of the blade and the earth""s surface. The wheels remain laterally spaced apart from the bucket and to the rear of the rear wall of the bucket. When the soil is to be distributed for the fill operation, the frame is lowered close to the first position but with the blade above the ground a predetermined distance. For those scrapers that have a blade fixed to the frame, the blade will act as a grader, spreading and leveling the soil to a predetermined thickness as the soil is released from the bucket.
Scrapers are classified by the amount of soil that they can carry measured in cubic yards. Tractors are manufactured to handle predetermined sized loads with a large number of existing tractors capable of handling at the maximum, 17 cubic yards.
In most cases, the larger the amount of earth moved during the transport task, the more efficient the scrapers will be. Scrapers manufactured under the prior art designs that are sized to carry more than 18 cubic yards of soil are too large to be handled by the typical tractor. Notwithstanding the existence of such prior art scrapers, it remains clear that there is a need for scrapers capable of carrying more than 18 cubic yards of soil that can still be hauled by the popular sized existing tractors.
The present invention relates to an apparatus for removing soil from the earth""s surface, moving the soil to a new location and unloading in areas at that new location. Most simply stated, the apparatus of this invention comprises a frame having two opposing longitudinally extending sides, each having first ends that are connected to one another by a front end of the frame extending therebetween. The second ends of each side frame are pivotally connected to at least two wheels for engagement with the ground. A cutting blade is laterally disposed between the opposed longitudinal sides of the frame adjacent to the bottom of the frame. A bucket having a floor, an upstanding back wall, two upstanding side walls, an open front and an open top, is pivotally mounted to the frame adjacent the blade.
A carrier is pivotally attached to the frame and is connected to the wheels for moving and positioning the wheels about the back wall and floor of the bucket between a first position and a second position. When the wheels are in the second position, a portion of each of the wheels underlies a portion of the floor of the bucket.
The first end of a tongue is mounted to the front end of the frame so that the second end of the tongue extends outwardly therefrom. The second end of the tongue has a connecting means attached thereto, which is attachable to a tractor for movement of the apparatus by the tractor.
The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacturer possessing the features, properties, and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described, and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims.